I agree :) I was looking through some of my newsgroup posting from earlier in the year.. Here is what I posted. Having aqua colored glasses will make you a very sad, unhappy football :)
Here is a sampling of my phin delusions from last year :)
DELUSIONAL POST 1
The AFC is looking like the dominant conference in the NFL right now with
teams clawing at each other early in the year for playoff positioning. Funny
how things change so quickly, the 49ers are starting to look like 1 year
wonders, the Green Bay Packers have difficulty beating the putrid Lions, the
Rams are 0-2 and Philly, with McNabb being their only star player on offense
seem to be the team to beat in the NFC.
With the new wildcard and playoff matchup system it is critical for the
Dolphins to play every game like the season is one the line. Everyone talks
about the AFC East, but have you guys looked at how incredible the AFC West
looks so far? The Broncos D is playing as well as their O-Line played during
the championship years, the supposedly old Raiders dominated the Steelers
and seem to be getting better with age, the Chargers have an excellent
defense and a future star in Brees, and the Chiefs have a dynamic RB and can
lay 40 points down against teams like the Browns and the Patriots who have
top tier defensive gameplans.
Over in the East the Bills have Bledsoe slinging the ball again. Bledsoe
reminds me of Marino after he went down with the Achilles heel. Everyone
counted him out, but he is showing the league why the Patriots signed him to
that huge contract several years ago. He will win games with his arm this
year, and the Bills could easily be 3-0. The Patriots are playing good
football again and do not look like the type of team that is going falter.
The AFCE is going to come down to the last game, Mia at NE week 17.
Over in the North the Steelers still have to be seen as the favorite. They
could potentially still wind up finishing 12-4 or 11-5, especially after
playing the Ravens, Browns and Bengals. The Bengals are horrible and the
Ravens have no ability to score any touchdowns.
However, I don't think the AFC South will bring about a playoff bye
contender. The Colts, Jags and Titans have been too inconsistent this year.
No wildcard team will come from the South.
So this leaves us with several strong contenders- The Dolphins, Patriots,
Broncos, Chargers (if Brees continues to grow and they keep using their RB
like they have.. Plus their D is excellent) Raiders, Steelers (only because
of the PANZY ASS schedule they have). Other contenders include the Browns
and (by virtue of the division they play in) and possibly the Colts.
Not only is it wide open, but the teams on the edge of being good have shown
that they can and will compete against the top tier teams. The Bills have
the potential to go on the road and beat any team in the NFL. The Chiefs can
score a ton of points, and I'm sure they would have beaten NE on the road if
they won the coin toss.
What all of this means to me is that no team in the AFC that is considered a
legitimate contender can let up at ALL during the season. With wild card
teams playing on the road, it is imperative to get home field advantage. One
can assume that the teams on top of the West and East will secure HFA, with
the Steelers challenging as their schedule gets easier. For the Phins, games
against the Chiefs and Buffalo are crucial. Our schedule this year is
brutal, no games remaining besides the Ravens and possibly the Vikings are
gimme games. I'll predict this now- The AFC takes the Super Bowl this year.
The gap is wide between the have and the have nots, but there are teams in
the middle that can disrupt championship hopes. The teams that can win those
tough games and split the ones against top opponents to secure homefield
advantage will have proven that they are championship caliber, and will be
very difficult to face come playoff time- I know a million different
intangibles could make all of these comments moot during the season and in
the playoffs, but I really believe that the AFC is as strong is it has been
since before the 49er era.
With games against the Chiefs in Kansas City, the Patriots (can't believe my
finger won't let me type the Patsies, I actually do have respect for them
now :), at Denver, Buffalo, at GB (probably cold weather game) and then at
NY (another cold weather game), the Dolphins must go at LEAST 3-2 to have
any chance at homefield. We then have two games we should win at home
against the Ravens and Chargers, then back to another tough game at Buffalo
(another cold weather game). Another tough stretch towards the latter half
of the season versus the improved Bears on Monday night and the Raiders at
home without the heat and humidity advantage we have had over them over the
years. Finally, close out against a Minnesota team on the road that will
probably be playing spoiler in late December and then the Patriots in
freezing cold weather on the road.
I hate to sound pessimistic, but we have several things going against us-
Miami has difficulty playing in cold weather games and our schedule is
brutal- If the Dolphins can pull off home field advantage or at least secure
a playoff bye they will have earned my respect as a championship caliber
team that has to be taken seriously. However, if they can not keep up I'll
understand that unlike the past few years, the level of play that is needed
to sustain serious playoff contention was triple what it has been over the
years.
DELUSIONAL POST 2
As a long suffering fan, the next two weeks are almost unbearable to think
about. I can't believe that after everything we have been through this year
we still have a legitimate chance to claim HFA.
Is this the year for the Phins to finally take advantage of the situation in
front of them by winning out and playing a home game in MID Jan?
I think we have a chance to do something special over the next two weeks
1) Ricky Williams and our ability to run the football allows us to dominate
time of possession and opens up our play action game.
2) The Miami Defense is playing better than ever. Other than the breakdowns
against Buf and KC, the D has stepped it up. Between Surtain, Taylor and our
other veterans we have the talent to dominate good teams like we did against
the Raiders.
3) Coaching- Norv Turner proved to me today why he is such a great OC. The
Phins did a masterful job opening up the field and threw the ball deep more
than 5 times. Against the Bears they sent Ricky out as the fifth receiver on
third down. I'm sure Norv has several more tricks up his sleeve during the
remaining two games. We also need to give Dave W props for keeping this team
together during the Flukas games, which managed incorrectly could have led
to a total team meltdown.
4) Talent - The Dolphins finally have superstars on both sides of the ball.
Teams with talent WIN in January. The Patriots may have been an exception
last year, but the Dolphins have a talented QB that is continuing to improve
and does nothing but win, the leading rusher in the NFL, the leading sacker
and the leading CB. Add good receivers like Chambers and Chris Carter to the
mix and we have veteran players on this team that know how to win and have a
supporting cast around them to help them do so. Randy McMichael is a
superstar in the making and is a threat that must be accounted for.
5) Record against top tier teams - Over the past few seasons the Dolphins
always seemed to squeak by decent to poor teams and lose to good teams. At
the game today I wanted it to be a close game down the stretch. I have been
to every home game and more often then not half the stadium is empty by the
middle of the fourth quarter. The Dolphins have routed every team at home
this year except for the fluke game against Buf and today's game. We have
beaten to the top teams in the conference to a pulp; 30-3 over San Diego and
NY; Oakland, Denver, NE and Indy. Not only did we defeat these top teams in
the AFC, but we won these games very convincingly, dominating time of
possession and the scoreboard.
6) Momentum- We have momentum and confidence. PLEASE REMEMBER that the
Vikings are 4-10! We will defeat them on the ground and our defense will
contain Moss and Dante. The NE game on the road for the AFCE and HFA is one
that we have won in the past. Two years ago we beat NE on the road week 17
to clinch the AFCE. NE had difficulty winning against teams we DOMINATED. NE
hasn't had a difficult game in several months and barely gets by the lowly
Lions and other puffcakes on their schedule.
With all of this being, deep down I still have the fear of us getting blown
out or losing the next two. I stopped being positive about the Dolphins
post-season chances after being let down year after year. But this year
feels different. We have an opportunity to play in San Diego in late January
if we can somehow muster the confidence and disciple to do so. Our
performance throughout the year has clearly proven that we are the best team
in AFC. Now its time to step up to the plate and do it.
